Client / Funding programme:
Erasmus+ Adult education:
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.
Start and end dates:
2020 – 2023
Website: stepupgame.eu
AFEdemy role in the project:
Main task of AFEdemy is to develop the Social and Policy Interventions Manual. The main aim of the manual is to provide an easily accessible and useful manual to advisors with social and policy interventions examples, lessons learned and success stories for the different stages of health emergencies. Other tasks is to support the development of the educational game, stakeholders involvement and desk research on measures in the phase of early detection, early outbreak, epidemic or pandemic phase and exit strategy.
☐ Coordination
☒ Research
☐ Training
☐ Curriculum development
☒ e-Learning Platform
☐ Networking
☒ Policy recommendation
Since the first COVID-19 cases appeared, countries have developed different strategies and responses to cope with the pandemic. After the emergency state, a collaborative leadership approach will be essential and working together as a collective, investing in a participatory citizenship, will be key.
It is not possible to consider this is a time with no consequences and that no other emergency situations will occur. The use of teleworking, the social distance and the increased health and care needs implied uncovering new methods of work, understanding society’s biggest fragilities and will imply changes in work and training, tools and routines that will only be clear in the next months and years.
Apart from all the innovations that are being developed and the new ways services are now being delivered, there is the need to prepare bottom-up initiatives that build-up the competences of social care professionals, community leaders, informal caregivers and volunteers so that these are prepared to deal with such emergency situations in the future.
STEP_UP is first aiming at social care workers and similar target groups described above as primary users, but the game will also be usable by any citizen and will therefore have a larger aim in adult training, especially those with lower skills and qualifications.
The STEP_UP game and toolkit will enable learners to build on competences and increase resilience to improve their communities in crisis situations. Professionals in municipalities and welfare organizations as well as social and health care providers, mainly those in auxiliary positions and lower skills, will be encouraged to better understand where to look for reliable information, to learn how to deal with pandemic contexts and to better empathize with policy decisions. Volunteers in associations, initiatives, and other community organisations are provided with options and strategies to contribute for public awareness.
All target groups will thus be equipped with strategies for intervention. By acting competently, they function as multipliers and transfer good practice examples to other persons and organizations. As regards learners with lower educational levels, the simple low threshold approach and easy accessibility of the game scenarios will encourage them to participate in a learning experience.